During a Mau Samoan parade in Apia, welcoming the return of Mau members, two gentlemen a Mr. Messrs Smyth and Mr. Hall Skelton came ashore to be hosted by Mr. Krause. The day was sunny and full of music, a day known in New Zealand History as "Black Saturday". A Sergeant Waterson under Sergeant Fell, had in planning to impose an arrest on a single young man, an instrumental in the Mau parade, playing in the welcome Band. Upon arrival on scene, the Sergeants were reported to have waded through the crowd, checking rows, and the Mau Policemen who spotted them, followed them to their target and intervened. Both Sergeants were then told to leave immediately but Sergeant Fell claimed Matau Karauna was wanted. Sergeant Waterson was then arrested by two Samoan Mau Policemen, and Fell who persisted toward the bandline to grab the boy, was baton struck and knocked in a coma-state, then held. Sergeant Waterson struggled and moved to Fell's side, both were then held.
Corporal Lance Downes had a supporting force under his command, situated on the corner of Ifi Ifi Beach road, who saw the struggles, sounding the signal with a whistle to move on the circumstance. The band music stopped, and the Mau policemen and youth members then surrounded the NZ Force, and in a flying manner, beat the Corporal's men and several military were flung and caught on site, then stoned down. One NZ militant, Abraham, was taken out with a single right hit to the head and dead, seemingly with a stone in hand, a man who was left behind. Sergeant Waterson, the man mostly responsible, was seen by several witnesses, leaving his men behind, the first ahead and the New Zealand military police force behind. They too then fled in sprint, half stopping to hold off, but not Waterson who ran into the station. The Corporals men moved fast to the nearest Samoan police agency, a full city blocks run, and it was reported that the faster young Samoans were running to cut them off ahead.
The Mau surrounded the Samoan Police agency building, and shots were fired when bouldery rocks were flung into the walls and windows. Under furniture cover, the NZ force shot at Mau civilians, shooting toward the street where the rocks came in, fanning out the length of the front entrance.
Witness statement by Corporal Cahill "While we were being forced down the lane, I saw Constable Abraham behind a post in the lane. I was trying to dodge a stone. As I looked at him I saw him crumple up. His back was towards me but I was under the impression he was firing his revolver. There were a number of Samoans in front of him, they were throwing stones in the lane. I stopped when Constable Abraham fell. I could not go back because the Samoans were too strong. I retreated with the others. I did not see Constable Abraham again."
During the movement, several Mau leaders stepped in to stop the maul, and innocent Tupua Tamasese Lealofi was hit, several times, surviving still, who was reported to have passed away in the hospital. The Sergeant Waterson was the one charged with shooting the Lewis machine gun, although poor in timing arrests and apparently poor at hand-to-hand defense, he was not a mass murderer, who did not fire directly into the crowd, but seemed to have aimed above head. It was reported that aimed rifle-fire struck the only Mau Samoan leader able to stop the events. Two others reported dead from that day, the rest unregistered or unknown.
An Inquest hearing was held on the chaos on January the 2nd, 1930 shown several poor calls to keeping the peace, more of an instigation in heated matters, a ruin to the island atmosphere, 10-15 gave statements, including store owners and military. The events were reported back to offices in New Zealand, leaked to several newspapers who printed variations, each different versions of events. The news though was not public priority with New Zealanders who focused more on a new NZ Government, but became a historical matter as it records Nz military flushed back by Samoan civilians.
Posted in: Samoa Pacific Islander Studies
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